DiploNews – Issue 338 – 5 January 2018

A Happy New Year from DiploTeam!

With the start of a new year, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have supported us in different ways. Thank you for your continued support!

On behalf of all of us at DiploFoundation, we wish you and your loved ones a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

Upcoming study and training opportunities

Humanitarian Diplomacy Diploma course

Apply now for the next session of the popular online course Humanitarian Diplomacy, offered in cooperation with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). This highly interactive 13-week course, led by Ambassador Christopher Lamb and a team of experienced practitioners, extends the knowledge base and develops practical skills of current and future practitioners in humanitarian diplomacy and policy. The course familiarises participants with basic definitions, concepts, actors, and institutions in the field of humanitarian diplomacy; introduces international humanitarian law; hones advocacy and negotiation skills; develops participants’ research skills; and increases their understanding of national and regional humanitarian diplomacy activities.
 The course is offered in English; however, participants have the option to write and submit major course assignments and the final research paper in French or Spanish.
 The next session starts 19 February 2018 and the application deadline is 15 January 2018. Please visit the course webpage to read more and apply.

Capacity Development

Capacity development has been emerging as a central approach within development for more than two decades. To help development professionals better understand and master this paradigm, this interactive course, offered in cooperation with the Learning Network for Capacity Development (LenCD), introduces the key concepts, principles, and values of capacity development. The main focus is on building practical skills for better design, planning, implementation, and assessment of capacity development initiatives. The course is taught online by Jenny Pearson and Carol Kiangura. The next session starts 19 Feburary 2018 and the application deadline is 15 January 2018. Please visit the course webpage to read more and apply.

Just-in-time course on Digital Commerce

This Digital Commerce course aims to assist permanent missions and international organisations in Geneva in increasing their knowledge and capacity to engage in multilateral digital-commerce-related negotiations and discussions. It provides an interdisciplinary coverage of e-commerce, from both digital and trade perspectives. While improving their knowledge of e-commerce, participants will also gain the practical skills and information required to discuss specific digital policy aspects, such as cross-border data flows, data localisation, cybersecurity, consumer protection, and the implication of emerging technologies to digital trade, such as the Internet of Things and 3D printing. It is aimed particularly at participants from developing and least developed countries (LDCs) based in Geneva. The course is delivered by DiploFoundation, CUTS International Geneva, the International Trade Centre (ITC), and the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP). It is supported by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and funded by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). The next session starts 29 January 2018 and the application deadline is 15 January 2018. Please visit the course page to learn more and apply.

February 2018 online diplomacy courses

Start the new year with one of our most popular online courses:

• Diplomatic Theory and Practice
• Public Diplomacy
• Introduction to Internet Governance

Apply by 15 January 2018 for Diplo certificate courses. For further information or to apply, click on the titles of the courses listed, or visit our courses webpage. Register now to reserve your place.

Malta scholarships

Thanks to support from the government of Malta, partial scholarships are available for applicants from developing countries to attend upcoming Diplo online courses. These scholarships cover 30–60% of course fees and can be applied to most online courses in 2018. Browse our course catalogue and contact us at admissions@diplomacy.edu for further information. You can also sign up for our courses mailing list to be informed about upcoming courses.


Internet governance in January

Our monthly Internet governance briefings resume this month. What were the main Internet governance updates in January, and how will they shape future developments? What can we expect in February? Join us for our next briefing, on Tuesday, 30th January, for a round-up of the major digital policy developments. Registrations are now open.

A look back at IGF 2017

Diplo and the GIP participated actively during the 12th Internet Governance Forum. Read our reports from every IGF 2017 workshop, and download the IGF Daily newsletters. The newsletters, published on each day of the IGF, include highlights from the discussions, and data analysis from verbatim transcripts. View more updates and photos from our IGF 2017 programme, and stay tuned for the final report, which will be published in the coming days.

What’s been happening in Diplo’s blogsphere

In our first guest blog post of the year, Michal Brichta asks Is private public diplomacy a thing? He looks at the impact of companies and brands on country perceptions. He argues that this can be a side-effect of a company’s international success as well as private businesses’ active involvement in a country’s’ diplomacy. He then looks at the brand-building process of countries (including Slovakia and Great Britain as examples). He concludes by pointing out that ‘a country brand not only tells us about what the country is good at, but also about what it wants to be good at. By placing private companies within the scope of its public diplomacy, a country also sends a signal of its dedication to developing its business environment and promoting entrepreneurship.’